Pantufa the Cat DX is a Sonic Rom hack that has been made into it’s own game. A platformer of sorts. I would say this is more of an fan game than a rom hack. But nevertheless, it’s a rom hack of Sonic the hedgehog 1, and it adds new things to spice things up.
What does Pantufa the Cat DX have to offer players? Trial and error platforming, now this is not so bad, games like cuphead, Wings of vi, and I wanna be the boshy, all have this trial and error theme. It’s in place so some players can’t “hold” Right to win, much like the Sonic games of late. There’s no challenge there in Sonic games, it’s too simple, and has made some players “soft” when a game offers a real challenge, akin to cuphead, wings of vi. They hate it.
Story?
Pantufa the cat offers some good platforming challenge for you to enjoy. play as Pantufa the Cat, and visit the 6 brand new zones with new layouts, new set pieces, and new traps.
Duck hunt dog has turned rouge with his super powered NES, and he is hell bent on taking out Pantufa, it seems but Pantufa has something to say about that.
New to this game is a new move. The parry Jump that allows Pantufa to avoid damage for a few seconds and the new “Infinity shield” that keeps the player safe from everything apart from getting crush..
There is no lives, given the fact that it running with the trial and error theme, and there is a health bar that the player has. It can be re-filled by breaking a monitor with a paw icon or collecting 20 coings will also re-fill part of your health
I guess the only issues I have with this game is that, Hazards and enemies seem to be place in spots where you have no way to react in time. Checkpoints in the later levels are far off, to a point where they are near the end of the stage or boss but that is fair, since it is late game, things ramp up.
Some hazards seem to have a wider hurtbox and there were un-fair deaths, and the game seems to have slowdown when respawning at a checkpoint but these are nitpicks.
The whole trial and error in a Sonic game is a turn off for some.
Overall, Pantufa the Cat DX left a somewhat pleasing feeling after beating a hard game that offered a real challenge and the feeling of overcoming it was even better. I went into this game having very low and mixed feeling towards the game but after playing it, I was wrong, and I’m glad.
Pantufa the Cat DX is the reason why gamers need games like this, When there is a real challenge that the player can’t beat, they forfeit or give up because it’s not easy. Gamers today have gotten weak and soft. If you can hold right, then that is the challenge that THEY want but DON’T need.
Pantufa the Cat DX is a decent platformer that offers a consistent challenge through out the game, and fun can be had here. The game rewards skilled play, instead of speed. As I said, Pantufa the Cat DX is a decent platformer, that is, if, you go into this game knowing that it’s not a sonic game then you will have a better time. If, you go into thinking it is going to be a Sonic game, you are not going to have a fun time.
It’s far from perfect, but if you love trial and error-like games, and like a good platformer with Challenge, Pantufa the Cat DX should suit your needs.
Sources:
My speedrun for Pantufa the Cat
Get the game from SHC: http://sonichacking.org/entry/27
Ony's chaos realm 